My son has narrowed down his acceptances to these 2, and while we know they are very different, he’s having a hard time coming to a decision. He’s been extremely fortunate and has been offered generous scholarships at both, so cost will be reasonable and end up being about the same at both colleges.
These are his Pros for each:
Berklee Pros:
surrounded by musicians
great state of the art facilities for audio production
wide assortment of ensembles
potential for post college connections
vibe of the college city of Boston
Lamont Denver Pros:
smaller program
more personal attention
If it matters, my son is a bassist (upright and electric) and loves playing jazz, rock, pop, blues, and even classical.
Anybody have thoughts or personal experiences to share on either program? Thanks!
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Slightly delayed reply but I just ran across this and my daughter is also looking at these 2 choices! She loved Denver and still has never been to Boston so we might be visiting. I know people with kids at both. Berklee has amazing recording /audio production but it’s definitely not a “traditional” college experience so for us it boils down to what your student is looking for. Lamont is wonderful but it’s not going to have the depth and breadth of Berklee, so if that’s what they want to be fully immersed in, they would need a place like Berklee. However, if they want to also have a college campus and be able to take other classes outside of the music world, Denver seems like a perfect option. It’s a great size, gorgeous campus with a lot to offer both within Lamont and throughout the rest of the university.
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Thanks so much for the feedback! You mentioned the key differences in these schools (music college vs music school w/in a college), and even though we already knew these differences, it does help to see somebody else explain it. My son is leaning heavily to Berklee, as he really doesn’t care about the “whole” college experience. In fact he would prefer to be surrounded by musicians and always doing music things.
We too have never been to Boston. Covid put our planned trip last summer on hold. We are tempted to fly out within the next month, but still hesitant due to Berklee not being fully open for visitors. We did get a chance to visit Denver and Lamont before Covid hit, and he did love the campus and the music facilities.
Good luck to you and your daughter!
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Hi! I just had a moment revisiting this site and curiosity is getting me and wondering where you son ended up? My daughter just finished her 2nd year at Berklee. It’s intense but was the right choice. Hope your son is happy wherever he is!
My son also just finished his 2nd year at Berklee! I wouldn’t be surprised if they know each other. He definitely made the right choice, and he is loving Berklee and Boston. He is an MP&E major. He was also a bass performance major, but he ended up dropping performance just before this semester ended, as both that and MP&E were a bit too much for him to handle.